HMS Sydney found

[one-eyed]

Wreckage of HMAS Sydney found off West Australian coast
Alison Rehn with AAP
March 17, 2008 09:30am

PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd has confirmed the wreck of the HMAS Sydney has been found nearly 2.5km underwater off the coast of Western Australia.

The Sydney's entire crew of 645 went down with the ship in the Indian Ocean in November, 1941, and its location has been a mystery for more than 66 years.

The ship was found using a high-resolution geosounder to examine deep water off Western Australia, about 800km north of Perth and about 240km off Shark Bay.

The wreckage of the German merchant raider Kormoran, believed to have sunk the Australian warship, was found before the discovery of the Sydney in 2560m of water.

Early images show that the Sydney's hull remains largely intact and upright on the ocean floor.

Australia's most enduring maritime tragedy happened as the Sydney was sunk returning to Fremantle when it met the German raider disguised as the Dutch freighter, Straat Malakka.

A battle ensued from which neither ship survived.

Eighty men from the 397-strong crew of the Kormoran perished.

Many theories about the fate of Sydney's crew have surfaced over the decades, arising from a struggle to understand why there were no survivors.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23386556-661,00.html

[mightytiges]

Good and sad news at the same time. At least there's closer now for the surviving relatives.

[Tigermonk]

another huge waste of money & another reason now for the goverment to bleed money from the taxpayers 

[mightytiges]

another huge waste of money & another reason now for the goverment to bleed money from the taxpayers 

Why? Surely respecting war dead isn't wasting money. 

[Tigermonk]

Now they found it they can stop wasting money
it dont need watching or protecting cause no-one going to go that far out to sea to drop 2.5 kms down to see it
There not going to retreive bones so why waste money going out there
too much money is wasted on rubbish when poverty around the world is so shocking
why dont they spend money on stopping stuff like Rwanda & Somalia
war is evil thats what happens people should move on instead of crying over the past

[mightytiges]

I understand what you're saying about spending the money on the living and yep war is evil but there are still direct relatives alive today - widows, girlfriends, sons and daughters of those who perished. This had been hanging over the country for 60 years. In this instance I think commemorating it is justified IMO. Sure there are places in the world that need desperate help but we can only realistically help these countries if they truly try to get themselves in some sort of order first rather than mass-murdering each other along ethnic/political lines and tolerating mass corruption. I know someone who was mugged by a cop in Kenya  .

[Tigermonk]

they will spend millions for nothing
they will say there spending money on protecting it,  yet no-one will dive down 2.5 kms to rob a rusted old ship its impossible but they will waste money regardless
they all deserve respect l agree,  but they got there own memorial built that cost millions so leave it at that